Each school received $50,000 to fund a schoolwide literacy project this year. The Foundation’s Disbursement Committee, which includes two APS high school seniors, made the decisions earlier this month among a variety of proposals in both grants.

The Foundation’s Guhl Literacy Awards were funded by a trust created by the Guhl family of Albuquerque, who believed strongly in literacy and public education.

“This represents our largest single set of grants and we are very excited about the future,” said Foundation Executive Director Phill Casaus.

E.G. Ross’ proposal will fund a “makers’ space” lab, an effort that will incorporate work in science, technology, engineering, art, literacy, transformation and health (STEALTH). It will be a creative space that provides challenges that will help students acquire – and improve – on literacy skills.

Students will access, manage, integrate and evaluate communication information and literacy projects that will expand throughout the school. Staff from Explora! will assist students and teachers with inquiry learning, which helps promote literacy.

Principal Amanda Stavig said the STEALTH approach to making literacy more accessible has been a long-term and school-wide approach.

“We are excited to empower our students in their literacy journey from an analog world into an ever changing digital environment," Stavig said.

Arroyo del Oso’s winning proposal is called Project Read: Readers Empowered by Authorship and Design. School leaders say the project will use technology to help students create their own books and other literacy projects, while also using blended instruction to accentuate the importance and fun of reading to students and their families.

“We are thrilled to offer our K-5 students the opportunity to make their marks as real writers and readers,” said first-year principal Holly Hargrove. “This grant will empower our children to become authentic authors of their own books, their own educations, and their own futures.

"We look forward to the joy and pride our students will exude when they see their published hardcover books nestled together in our school library alongside the traditionally published ones. How exciting for our students, our staff, and our community.”